I don’t think I’ve ever worn a pair of gumboots. I’m pretty sure I had no rain boots as a child. I grew up in Edmonton and Calgary, and have no memory of a raincoat. I think my grandmother had a folded-up plastic tie-down hat she carried in her purse, but it was more for the wind (of which there was lots) than the wet (of which there was little).
Edmonton precipitation (source: weather-and-climate.com)
Calgary precipitation (source: weather-and-climate.com)
Compared to kids growing up in Yuma AZ (where the rainiest months of the year see 0.39 inches of rainfall) I had more connection with Dick-and-Jane’s splish-splashing on the way home from school, but I still never had their gear. I never owned an umbrella until I moved to Ottawa as a 50-year-old. I mean, why would I?
So, my connection to the rain is tenuous at best. Maybe that’s why I was out taking photos of our community garden during and just after and during intermittent rain showers. Rain isn’t exactly a novelty, but it does present unfamiliar challenges and opportunities.
Rain, rain, go away? Yeah, but come again another day.
Isabel
Yes, it has been a bit sprinkly lately, but in some parts of the country rain has been scarce and it’s badly needed for the germination of crops that will soon be planted. We depend upon the rain for our food.
Tom
Tom – I know. The mighty Ottawa, which is often in flood-mode in the spring, is low this year. An early/fast melt, and not much rain since then. We do need the rain.
How those raindrops make the pictures come alive! Whatever that frond is from, it would be dull as, umm, dried-up dishwater without those sparkling drops on it.
Jim T
Jim T – Thanks! I think the green leaf is from a day lily, which are a mixed blessing. Vigorous, but they tend to take over.
As I recall, the raindrops on the roses rather than merely the blooms, count as “favorite things.” These luscious photos allow us to enter into the life of the plants better than sunny photos, which are more likely to reproduce images already taken-for-granted. Each bead of water magnifies, lending a Georgia O’Keefe magnificence to its background. If I sound like an art gallery tour guide, your photos made me do it.
Laurna – Your recall of the song is correct. And I think you’re right, also, about the raindrops somehow enhancing the flower/leaf. Picture-perfect is over-rated, maybe?